roteague - Great find. An enjoyable read.
It's hard to believe that article is so GM-positive and so Lexus-Negative.
Deservedly so,
I never thought I would see the day when the pendulum would swung back so forcefully.
Keep up the great work GM!

 

I love the fact Chevy makes a Hybrid Tahoe and Silverado...I really do. I just want to get that out of the way. 21 mpg is very appealing in a big safe utility friendly pickup! But articles like this are hilarious! The Lexus goes 0-60 in under 6 seconds! If they wanted to make it have optimum fuel economy, they would/could have. The people that buy $105k+ cars......say it with me One hundred five thousand dollars (starting)......do not care about gas mileage. The Lexus is a uber-luxury car, not a fuel miser.

edited out dumb question!

 

I love the fact Chevy makes a Hybrid Tahoe and Silverado...I really do. I just want to get that out of the way. 21 mpg is very appealing in a big safe utility friendly pickup! But articles like this are hilarious! The Lexus goes 0-60 in under 6 seconds! If they wanted to make it have optimum fuel economy, they would/could have. The people that buy $105k+ cars......say it with me One hundred five thousand dollars (starting)......do not care about gas mileage. The Lexus is a uber-luxury car, not a fuel miser.

The Silverado Hybrid can tow 6,100lbs. and haul 1,400lbs. The Lexus is fast and gadget-ridden, the Silverado works hard. Saying that all ultra-luxury sedan buyers do not care about economy is like saying anyone that tows a boat could care less about fuel economy.

Hell while I am at it: Why do GM ads claim 50% greater fuel economy in the city with the Hybrid trucks/SUV's than their non-hybrid counterparts? It's a lie. When has a Silverado or Tahoe been rated at 10 or 11 mpg in the city?

14MPG City Rating + 50% (7MPG) = 21MPG

 

Silverado Hybrid FTW!!!!

 

Very positive article. I'd love to have one of these things.

Regarding the towing limit I read somewhere about the Durango 2-mode and why it was limited in towing (6000 lbs?). They said it had to do mostly with reverse. As was stated in this article reverse is entirely electric and does not use the gas motor directly, the Durango is the same since it uses the same 2-mode system. It just can't handle moving more weight in reverse reliably, especially when you consider that you might be backing up a steep hill.

 

Good for GM! It is about time GM sells true hybrids instead of merely faking it for years!

The only thing that scares me is the horrendous reputation GM has on technology - they always rush stuff to market and then use the customer as Research and Development and then have huge problems later on. I'd give GM five years to iron out the bugs before I'd even consider a purchase.

 

I like the Silverado hybrid, and it's impressive. But that article is trash.

The LS600h is AWD and has a 5 second 0-60 mph. The Silverado hybrid they tested is 2WD and if it accelerates like the Yukon Hybrid, gets to 60 mph in about 7.5 seconds.

I'm sure if Lexus designed their LS hybrid for a 7.5 second 0-60 mph with RWD, they could do far better than 20 mpg.

[EDIT] I take it back. On the next page of this thread, roteague points out that the article compares the sophistication of the GM two-mode hybrid system to the Lexus hybrid system. I interpreted the article to compare the Lexus to the Chevy, period. That's not a fair comparison. But that wasn't the comparison they made. They were rightly pointing out that the two-mode beats Lexus' hybrid system.

 

I'm sure if Lexus designed their LS hybrid for a 7.5 second 0-60 mph with RWD, they could do far better than 20 mpg.

That then begs the question: Why didn't they? They dropped the ball, pure and simple.

 

Wow, great find. I wonder if GM could take this and put it in a commerical?

 

Something comparable to the regular truck ads where Howie Long picks up out-of-gas F-150 and Tundra owners would work. Only, I'd have the Silverado towing the Lexus to a gas station rather than just picking up the drivers to show capability. But we all know GM is incapable of effective marketing...

 

Yes it may not make sense as a comparison. But it does make sense in an economical sense. Look, the article is from Pickup Truck, what do you expect? Do you expect them to compare the mpg to a Tundra (that wouldn't be much of one since the normal Tundra isn't as economical). The Toyota failed to make their top sedan everything for the pricetag it is.
I thought that they were some magical company, instead they have been puffing too much of their product.

The point is the Silverado/Sierra hybrid does quite well and worthy of a comparison to any other truck.

 

[ a morally superior 21/22 mpg city/highway ]

 

Great, yet another GM vehicle that won't make money.

 

i hope the price stays down enough..especially with all the discounts and such. hopefully people will be trading in there fords and dodges for one of these.

 

No, hopefully people will be trading in Camrys, and Accords, and Jettas for one of these.

 

1. If i had that kinda money Id buy a ZR1. Screw mileage I want POWER
__________________
2. Member of the: I Will Never Buy a Japanese Car In My Life Club.

How dare you make those 2 statements and claim to be an American!!! We are about hybrids and foreign cars, now.

 

The Silverado Hybrid can tow 6,100lbs. and haul 1,400lbs. The Lexus is fast and gadget-ridden, the Silverado works hard. Saying that all ultra-luxury sedan buyers do not care about economy is like saying anyone that tows a boat could care less about fuel economy.

As a full size Pickup, the Silverado has the capability of a midsize version, with the same or slightly better fuel economy. Whether or not it has a more advanced Hybrid system , is not going to make much sense to a potential buyer as it will also cost more.

 

I have thought about this comparison about 1 1/2 years ago while watching the owner back up their Lexus RX330 into a concrete curb causing the exhaust system to fall off. I chuckled as I sat waiting for this guy to move out of the way and thought to myself: if he had been driving my Avalanche LTZ, that wouldn't have happened. Back up cameras are great. Then I thought about my trucks other benefits: Navigation, rear seat DVD entertainment system, tri-zone heating/air conditioning system, power running boards... there is no way I would trade the Avalanche for a Lexus!

 

Is this a real post? It's entirely possible that the guy's Lexus had a camera (it's an option you know)...but it doesn't activate the brakes to prevent an impact. People still have to "drive" their cars, and that person sounds like a terrible driver. Yeah, my 2004 Acura MDX had NAV, DVD, heated seats and an awful lot of goodies that spoiled us....now I have that stuff and more in my Armada. I am with you though...the rear camera is the BOMB, especially if you tow anything. There is no reversing, getting out, checking it out, getting back in, re-reversing, getting out, assessing etc.

 

Let's be fair. The Lexus is fast and it's a great car all around.

But the Silverado can tow over 3 tons and will roll over bigger snow banks than the Lexus.

My choice: A 4.5L Turbodiesel Silverado. Sorry, hybrids are not for me.

 

I find the comments in here running down Lexus kinda laughable.

Granted the LS600h, for the price, doesn't make sense, but they did it to improve performance, while maintaining fuel economy. It was not built to improve the MPG, nor has it been advertised to. It is strictly there for a performance standpoint. When you look at the performance and MPG, look at the weight of the vehicle and the fact that it is AWD.

I have never owned a vehicle outside of the big 3, so I am not an import lover by any means... (2 GM, 2 Mopar and 1 Ford)... Just a vehicle enthusiast.

From Road & Track

"As Bob Carter, Lexus Group V.P. and General Manager, stated, this car is “the truest expression of luxury and efficiency of any vehicle we have created. Equally important, the LS hybrid stands as the icon for the Lexus brand.” Carter went on to say that the 600h L's combination of all-wheel drive and the 8-speed automatic CVT transmission with the V-8 engine and electric motor “results in power and performance on par with modern 12-cylinder engines.”"

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=6&article_id=5266

 

Actually, you made the same mistake that I did.

The article isn't criticizing the Lexus or saying that the Silverado is flat out better.

It's simply comparing the complexity of their hybrid powertrain components. And in that respect, the General Motors two-mode hybrid system (co-developed with Chrysler and Mercedes) is more sophisticated and efficient than the hybrid system in the Lexus.

Look at it in terms of improvement. The Lexus LS600h makes about 440 or so total horsepower between the V8 and the hybrid system, weighs 5050 pounds, has AWD, and is rated for mileage 20/22. The most comparable AWD sedan on the market is probably the Audi A8 long wheelbase AWD 6.0 liter W12 model, rated 15/21.

The Lexus manages to be about the same in terms of size, shape, and speed and gets mileage 33% better in the city and maybe 5% better highway.

Now find something to compare to the Silverado Crew Cab 2WD hybrid. The regular Silverado Crew Cab 5.3 2WD is rated 15/20 with 315 horsepower. The Silverado Crew Cab 2WD two-mode hybrid is rated 332 horsepower and mileage 21/22. That's an improvement of 40% city and 10% highway. And if the Tahoe Hybrid is any indication, the Silverado two-mode hybrid is also much faster than the regular Silverado 5.3 crew cab.

The Lexus is a very technologically sophisticated vehicle, no question. But it's hard to dispute that the two-mode hybrid system is more advanced than the Lexus hybrid system.